THE PROBLEM OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCES TO THE HARNESSING OF THE SUN'S ENERGY. by Nikola Tesla THE ONWARD MOVEMENT OF MAN THE ENERGY OF THE MOVEMENT THE THREE WAYS OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGY. Of all the endless variety of phenomena which nature presents to our senses, there is none that fills our minds with greater wonder than that inconceivably complex movement which, in its entirety, we designate as human life; Its mysterious origin is veiled in the forever impenetrable mist of the past, its character is rendered incomprehensible by its infinite intricacy, and its destination is hidden in the unfathomable depths of the future. Whence does it come? What is it? Whither does it tend? are the great questions which the sages of all times have endeavored to answer. Modern science says: The sun is the past, the earth is the present, the moon is the future. From an incandescent mass we have originated, and into a frozen mass we shall turn. Merciless is the law of nature, and rapidly and irresistibly we are drawn to our doom. Lord Kelvin, in his profound meditati ons, allows us only a short span of life, something like six million years, after wh ich time the suns bright light will have ceased to shine, and its life giving heat will have ebbed away, and our own earth will be a lump of ice, hurrying on through the eternal night. But do not let us despair. There will still be left upon it a glimmering spark of life, and there will be a chance to kindle a new fire on some distant star. This wonderful possibility seems, indeed, to exist, judging from Professor Dewar's beautiful experiments with liqu id air, which show that ge rms of organic life are not destroyed by cold, no matter how intense; consequently they may be transmitted through the interstellar space. Meanwhile the cheering lights of science and art, ever increasing in intensity, illuminate our path, and marvels they disclose, and the enjoyments they offer, make us measurably forgetful of the gloomy future. Though we may never be able to comprehend human life, we know certainly that it is a movement, of whatever nature it be. The existence of movement unavoidably implies a body which is being moved and a force which is moving it. Hence, wherever there is life, there is a mass moved by a force. All mass possesses inertia, all force tends to persist. Owing to this universal property and condition, a body, be it at rest or in motion, tends to remain in the same state, and a force, manifesting itself anywhere and through whatever cause, produces an equivalent opposing force, and as an absolute necessity of this it follows that every movement in nature must be rhythmical. Long ago this simple truth was clearly pointed out by Herbert Spencer, who arrived at it through a somewhat different process of reasoning. It is borne out in everything we perceive in the movement of a planet, in the surging and ebbing of the tide, in the reverberations of the air, the swinging of a pendulum, the oscillations of an electric current, and in the infinitely varied phenomena of organic life. Does not the whole of human life attest to it? Birth, growth, old age, and death of an individual, family, race, or nation, what is it all but a rhythm? All life-manifestation, then, even in its most intricate form, as exemplified in man, however involved and inscrutable, is only a movement, to which the same general laws of movement which govern throughout the physical universe must be applicable. [See Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 334, Photograph X.] FIG. 1. BURNING THE NITROGEN OF THE ATMOSPHERE. Note to Fig. 1. This result is produced by the discharge of an electrical oscillator giving twelve million volts. The electrical pressure, alternating one hundred thousand times per second, excites the normally inert nitrogen, causing it to combine with the oxygen. The flame-like discharge shown in the photograph measures sixty-five feet across. When we speak of man, we have a conception of humanity as a whole, and before applying scientific methods to, the investigation of his movement we must accept this as a physical fact. But can anyone doubt to-day that all the millions of individuals and all the innumerable types and characters constitute an entity, a unit? Though free to think and act, we
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8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCES TO THE HARNESSING OF THE SUN'S ENERGY.
by Nikola Tesla
THE ONWARD MOVEMENT OF MAN THE ENERGY OF THE MOVEMENT THE THREE WAYS OF INCREASING HUMAN ENERGY.
Of all the endless variety of phenomena which nature presents to our senses, there is none that fills our minds with greater
wonder than that inconceivably complex movement which, in its entirety, we designate as human life; Its mysterious origin is
veiled in the forever impenetrable mist of the past, its character is rendered incomprehensible by its infinite intricacy, and its
destination is hidden in the unfathomable depths of the future. Whence does it come? What is it? Whither does it tend? are the
great questions which the sages of all times have endeavored to answer.
Modern science says: The sun is the past, the earth is the present, the moon is the future. From an incandescent mass we have
originated, and into a frozen mass we shall turn. Merciless is the law of nature, and rapidly and irresistibly we are drawn to our
doom. Lord Kelvin, in his profound meditations, allows us only a short span of life, something like six million years, after which
time the suns bright light will have ceased to shine, and its life giving heat will have ebbed away, and our own earth will be a
lump of ice, hurrying on through the eternal night. But do not let us despair. There will still be left upon it a glimmering spark
of life, and there will be a chance to kindle a new fire on some distant star. This wonderful possibility seems, indeed, to exist,
judging from Professor Dewar's beautiful experiments with liquid air, which show that germs of organic life are not destroyed
by cold, no matter how intense; consequently they may be transmitted through the interstellar space. Meanwhile the cheering
lights of science and art, ever increasing in intensity, illuminate our path, and marvels they disclose, and the enjoyments they
offer, make us measurably forgetful of the gloomy future.
Though we may never be able to comprehend human life, we know certainly that it is a movement, of whatever nature it be.
The existence of movement unavoidably implies a body which is being moved and a force which is moving it. Hence, wherever
there is life, there is a mass moved by a force. All mass possesses inertia, all force tends to persist. Owing to this universal
property and condition, a body, be it at rest or in motion, tends to remain in the same state, and a force, manifesting itself
anywhere and through whatever cause, produces an equivalent opposing force, and as an absolute necessity of this it follows
that every movement in nature must be rhythmical. Long ago this simple truth was clearly pointed out by Herbert Spencer,
who arrived at it through a somewhat different process of reasoning. It is borne out in everything we perceive in the movement
of a planet, in the surging and ebbing of the tide, in the reverberations of the air, the swinging of a pendulum, the oscillations
of an electric current, and in the infinitely varied phenomena of organic life. Does not the whole of human life attest to it?
Birth, growth, old age, and death of an individual, family, race, or nation, what is it all but a rhythm? All life-manifestation,
then, even in its most intricate form, as exemplified in man, however involved and inscrutable, is only a movement, to which
the same general laws of movement which govern throughout the physical universe must be applicable.
[See Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 334, Photograph X.]
FIG. 1. BURNING THE NITROGEN OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
Note to Fig. 1. This result is produced by the discharge of an electrical oscillator giving twelve million volts. The electrical pressure, alternating one
hundred thousand times per second, excites the normally inert nitrogen, causing it to combine with the oxygen. The flame-like discharge shown in
the photograph measures sixty-five feet across.
When we speak of man, we have a conception of humanity as a whole, and before applying scientific methods to, the
investigation of his movement we must accept this as a physical fact. But can anyone doubt to-day that all the millions of
individuals and all the innumerable types and characters constitute an entity, a unit? Though free to think and act, we
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
are held together, like the stars in the firmament, with ties inseparable. These ties cannot be seen, but we can feel them. I
cut myself in the finger, and it pains me: this finger is a part of me. I see a friend hurt, and it hurts me, too: my friend and I
are one. And now I see stricken down an enemy, a lump of matter which, of all the lumps of matter in the universe, I care
least for, and it still grieves me. Does this not prove that each of us is only part of a whole?
For ages this idea has been proclaimed in the consummately wise teachings of religion, probably not alone as a means ofinsuring peace and harmony among men, but as a deeply founded truth. The Buddhist expresses it in one way, the Christian in
another, but both say the same: We are all one. Metaphysical proofs are, however, not the only ones which we are able to
bring forth in support of this idea. Science, too, recognizes this connectedness of separate individuals, though not quite in the
same sense as it admits that the suns, planets, and moons of a constellation are one body, and there can be no doubt that it
will be experimentally confirmed in times to come, when our means and methods for investigating psychical and other states
and phenomena shall have been brought to great perfection. Still more: this one human being lives on and on. The individual is
ephemeral, races and nations come and pass away, but man remains. Therein lies the profound difference between the
individual and the whole. Therein, too, is to be found the partial explanation of many of those marvelous phenomena of
heredity which are the result of countless centuries of feeble but persistent influence.
Conceive, then, man as a mass urged on by a force. Though this movement is not of a translatory character, implying change of
place, yet the general laws of mechanical movement are applicable to it, and the energy associated with this mass can be
measured, in accordance with well-known principles, by half the product of the mass with the square of a certain velocity. So,
for instance, a cannon-ball which is at rest possesses a certain amount of energy in the form of heat, which we measure in a
similar way. We imagine the ball to consist of innumerable minute particles, called atoms or molecules, which vibrate or whirl
around one another. We determine their masses and velocities, and from them the energy of each of these minute systems,
and adding them all together, we get an idea of the total heat-energy contained in the ball, which is only seemingly at rest. In
this purely theoretical estimate this energy may then be calculated by multiplying half of the total mass that is half of the sum
of all the small masses with the square of a velocity which is determined from the velocities of the separate particles. In like
manner we may conceive of human energy being measured by half the human mass multiplied with the square of the velocity
which we are not yet able to compute. But our deficiency in this knowledge will not vitiate the truth of the deductions I shall
draw, which rest on the firm basis that the same laws of mass and force govern throughout nature.
Man, however, is not an ordinary mass, consisting of spinning atoms and molecules, and containing merely heat-energy. He is a
mass possessed of certain higher qualities by reason of the creative principle of life with which he is endowed. His mass, as the
water in an ocean wave, is being continuously exchanged, new taking the place of the old. Not only this, but he grows
propagates, and dies, thus altering his mass independently, both in bulk and density. What is most wonderful of all, he is
capable of increasing or diminishing his velocity of movement by the mysterious power he possesses by appropriating more or
less energy from other substance, and turning it into motive energy. But in any given moment we may ignore these slow
changes and assume that human energy is measured by half the product of man's mass with the square of a certain
hypothetical velocity. However we may compute this velocity, and whatever we may take as the standard of its measure, we
must, in harmony with this conception, come to the conclusion that the great problem of science is, and always will be, to
increase the energy thus defined. Many years ago, stimulated by the perusal of that deeply interesting work, Draper's "History
of the Intellectual Development of Europe," depicting so vividly human movement, I recognized that to solve this eternal
problem must ever be the chief task of the man of science. Some results of my own efforts to this end I shall endeavor briefly
to describe here.
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
death enter our bodies. The germs of destruction it conveys are enemies all the more terrible as they perform their fatal work
unperceived. They seal our doom while we live and enjoy. The majority of people are so ignorant or careless in drinking wa
and the consequences of this are so disastrous, that a philanthropist can scarcely use his efforts better than by endeavor
enlighten those who are thus injuring themselves. By systematic purification and sterilization of the drinking water the human
mass would be very considerably increase
ter,
ing to
d. It should be made a rigid rule which might be enforced by law to boil or to sterilize
therwise the drinking water in every household and public place. The mere filtering does not afford sufficient security against
ger, and
is
that a word, a breath, a look, nay, a thought, may injure it. Uncleanliness,
hich breeds disease and death, is not only a self destructive but highly immoral habit. In keeping our bodies free from
e
l
d superior to it in regard to both mechanical and mental performance. Such food, moreover, taxes our digestive
rgans decidedly less, and, in making us more contented and sociable, produces an amount of good difficult to estimate. In
ive
f
or
that some of them might not be
resent here, in this our world, in the very midst of us, for their constitution and life-manifestation may be such that we are
. With
o
infection. All ice for internal uses should be artificially prepared from water thoroughly sterilized. The importance ofeliminating germs of disease from the city water is generally recognized, but little is being done to improve the existing
conditions, as no satisfactory method of sterilizing great quantities of water has yet been brought forward. By improved
electrical appliances we are now enabled to produce ozone cheaply and in large amounts, and this ideal disinfectant seems to
offer a happy solution of the important question.
Gambling, business rush, and excitement, particularly on the exchanges, are causes of much mass reduction, all the more so
because the individuals concerned represent units of higher value. Incapacity of observing the first symptoms of an illness, and
careless neglect of the same, are important factors of mortality. In noting carefully every new sign of approaching dan
making conscientiously every possible effort to avert it, we are not only following wise laws of hygiene in the interest of our
well-being and the success of our labors, but we are also complying with a higher moral duty. Everyone should consider h
body as a priceless gift from one whom he loves above all, as a marvelous work of art, of indescribable beauty and mastery
beyond human conception, and so delicate and frail
w
infection, healthful, and pure, we are expressing our reverence for the high principle with which they are endowed. He who
follows the precepts of hygiene in this spirit is proving himself, so far, truly religious. Laxity of morals is a terrible evil, which
poisons both mind and body, and which is responsible for a great reduction of the human mass in some countries. Many of the
present customs and tendencies are productive of similar hurtful results. For example, the society life, modern education and
pursuits of women, tending to draw them away from their household duties and make men out of them, must needs detract
from the elevating ideal they represent, diminish the artistic creative power, and cause sterility and a general weakening of
the race. A thousand other evils might be mentioned, but all put together, in their bearing upon the problem under discussion,
they could not equal a single one, the want of food, brought on by poverty, destitution, and famine. Millions of individuals di
yearly for want of food, thus keeping down the mass. Even in our enlightened communities, and not withstanding the many
charitable efforts, this is still, in all probability, the chief evil. I do not mean here absolute want of food, but want of healthfu
nutriment.
How to provide good and plentiful food is, therefore, a most important question of the day. On the general principles the
raising of cattle as a means of providing food is objectionable, because, in the sense interpreted above, it must undoubtedly
tend to the addition of mass of a "smaller velocity." It is certainly preferable to raise vegetables, and I think, therefore, that
vegetarianism is a commendable departure from the established barbarous habit. That we can subsist on plant food and
perform our work even to advantage is not a theory, but a well-demonstrated fact. Many races living almost exclusively on
vegetables are of superior physique and strength. There is no doubt that some plant food, such as oatmeal, is more economical
than meat, an
o
view of these facts every effort should be made to stop the wanton and cruel slaughter of animals, which must be destruct
to our morals. To free ourselves from animal instincts and appetites, which keep us down, we should begin at the very root
from which we spring: we should effect a radical reform in the character of the food.
There seems to be no philosophical necessity for food. We can conceive of organized beings living without nourishment, and
deriving all the energy they need for the performance of their life functions from the ambient medium. In a crystal we have
the clear evidence of the existence of a formative life-principle, and though we cannot understand the life of a crystal, it is
none the less a liv ing being. There may be, besides crystals, other such individualized, material systems of beings, perhaps o
gaseous constitution, or composed of substance still more tenuous. In view of this possibility, nay, probability, we cannot
apodictically deny the existence of organized beings on a planet merely because the conditions on the same are unsuitable f
the existence of life as we conceive it. We cannot even, with positive assurance, assert
p
unable to perceive them.
The production of artificial food as a means for causing an increase of the human mass naturally suggests itself, but a direct
attempt of this kind to provide nourishment does not appear to me rational, at least not for the present. Whether we could
thrive on such food is very doubtful. We are the result of ages of continuous adaptation, and we cannot radically change
without unforeseen and, in all probability, disastrous consequences. So uncertain an experiment should not be tried. By far the
best way, it seems to me, to meet the ravages of the evil, would be to find ways of increasing the productivity of the soil
this object the preservation of forests is of an importance which cannot be overestimated, and in this connection, also, the
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
utilization of water-power for purposes of electrical transmission, dispensing in many ways with the necessity of burning wood,
nd tending thereby to forest preservation, is to be strongly advocated. But there are limits in the improvement to be effected
of
developed plant and animal life could flourish. But though the theories are, even now, not in
greement as to how fertilization is effected, it is a fact, only too well ascertained, that the soil cannot indefinitely sustain
f
amed "St. Elmo's
otfire," which, besides being capable of generating ozone in abundance, also possessed, as I pointed out on that occasion,
sify
ing
of
d
quick in coming; still, little by little, I advanced. The flame grew larger and larger, and
s oxidizing action grew more intense. From an insignificant brush-discharge a few inches long it developed into a marvelous
e
e
h as
a
in this and similar ways.
To increase materially the productivity of the soil, it must be more effectively fertilized by artificial means. The question
food-production resolves itself, then, into the question how best to fertilize the soil. What it is that made the soil is still a
mystery? To explain its origin is probably equivalent to explaining the origin of life itself. The rocks, disintegrated by moistureand heat and wind and weather, were in themselves not capable of maintaining life. Some unexplained condition arose, and
some new principle came into effect, and the first layer capable of sustaining low organisms, like mosses was formed. These,
by their life and death, added more of the life sustaining quality to the soil, and higher organisms could then subsist, and so on
and on, until at last highly
a
life, and some way must be found to supply it with the substances which have been abstracted from it by the plants. The chie
and most valuable among these substances are compounds of nitrogen, and the cheap production of these is, therefore, the
key for the solution of the all-important food problem. Our atmosphere contains an inexhaustible amount of nitrogen, and
could we but oxidizes it and produce these compounds, an incalculable benefit for mankind would follow.
Long ago this idea took a powerful hold on the imagination of scientific men, but an efficient means for accomplishing this
result could not be devised. The problem was rendered extremely difficult by the extraordinary inertness of the nitrogen,
which refuses to combine even with oxygen. But here electricity comes to our aid: the dormant affinities of the element are
awakened by an electric current of the proper quality. As a lump of coal which has been in contact with oxygen for centuries
without burning will combine with it when once ignited, so nitrogen, excited by electricity, will burn. I did not succeed,
however, in producing electrical discharges exciting very effectively the atmospheric nitrogen until a comparatively recent
date, although I showed, in May, 1891, in a scientific lecture, a novel form of discharge or electrical flame n
h
distinctly the quality of exciting chemical affinities. This discharge or flame was then only three or four inches long, its
chemical action was likewise very feeble, and consequently the process of oxidation of nitrogen was wasteful. How to inten
this action was the question. Evidently electric currents of a peculiar kind had to be produced in order to render the process of
nitrogen combustion more efficient.
The first advance was made in ascertaining that the chemical activity of the discharge was very considerably increased by us
currents of extremely high frequency or rate of vibration. This was an important improvement, but practical considerations
soon set a definite limit to the progress in this direction. Next, the effects of the electrical pressure of the current impulses,
their wave-form and other characteristic features, were investigated. Then the influence of the atmospheric pressure an
temperature and of the presence of water and other bodies was studied, and thus the best conditions for causing the most
intense chemical action of the discharge and securing the highest efficiency of the process were gradually ascertained.
Naturally, the improvements were not
it
electrical phenomenon, a roaring blaze, devouring the nitrogen of the atmosphere and measuring sixty or seventy feet across.
Thus slowly, almost imperceptibly, possibility became accomplishment. All is not yet done, by any means, but to what a
degree my efforts have been rewarded an idea may be gained from an inspection of Fig. 1 (p. 176), which, with its title, is self
explanatory. The flame-like discharge visible is produced by the intense electrical oscillations which pass through the coil
shown, and violently agitate the electrified molecules of the air. By this means a strong affinity is created between the two
normally indifferent constituents of the atmosphere, and they combine readily, even if no further provision is made for
intensifying the chemical action of the discharge. In the manufacture of nitrogen compounds by this method, of course, every
possible means bearing upon the intensity of this action and the efficiency of the process will be taken advantage of, and,
besides, special arrangements will be provided for the fixation of the compounds formed, as they are generally unstable, the
nitrogen becoming again inert after a little lapse of time. Steam is a simple and effective means for fixing permanently th
compounds. The result illustrated makes it practicable to oxidize the atmospheric nitrogen in unlimited quantities, merely by
the use of cheap mechanical power and simple electrical apparatus. In this manner many compounds of nitrogen may be
manufactured all over the world, at a small cost, and in any desired amount, and by means of these compounds the soil can b
fertilized and its productiveness indefinitely increased. An abundance of cheap and healthful food, not artificial, but suc
we are accustomed to, may thus be obtained. This new and inexhaustible source of food-supply will be of incalculable benefit
to mankind, for it will enormously contribute to the increase of the human mass, and thus add immensely to human energy.
Soon, I hope, the world will see the beginning of an industry which, in time to come, will, I believe, be in importance next to
that if iron.
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
THE SECOND PROBLEM: HOW TO REDUCE THE FORCE RETARDING THE HUMAN MASS THE ART OF TELAUTOMATICS.
As before stated, the force which retards the onward movement of man is partly frictional and partly negative. To illustrate
this distinction I may name, for example, ignorance, stupidity, and imbecility as some of the purely frictional forces, or
resistances devoid of any directive tendency. On the other hand, visionariness, insanity, self-destructive tendency, religious
fanaticism, and the like, are all forces of a negative character, acting in definite directions. To reduce or entirely overcome
these dissimilar retarding forces, radically different methods must be employed. One knows, for instance, what a fanatic maydo, and one can take preventive measures, can enlighten, convince, and, possibly direct him, turn his vice into virtue; but one
does not know, and never can know, what a brute or an imbecile may do, and one must deal with him as with a mass, inert,
without mind, let loose by the mad elements. A negative force always implies some quality, not infrequently a high one,
though badly directed, which it is possible to turn to good advantage; but a directionless, frictional force involves unavoidable
loss. Evidently, then, the first and general answer to the above question is: turn all negative force in the right direction and
reduce all frictional force.
There can be no doubt that, of all the frictional resistances, the one that most retards human movement is ignorance. Not
without reason said that man of wisdom, Buddha: "Ignorance is the greatest evil in the world." The friction which results from
ignorance, and which is greatly increased owing to the numerous languages and nationalities, can be reduced only by the
spread of knowledge and the unification of the heterogeneous elements of humanity. No effort could be better spent. But
however ignorance may have retarded the onward movement of man in times past, it is certain that, nowadays, negative
forces have become of greater importance. Among these there is one of far greater moment than any other. It is called
organized warfare. When we consider the millions of individuals, often the ablest in mind and body, the flower of humanity,
who are compelled to a life of inactivity and unproductiveness, the immense sums of money daily required for the maintenance
of armies and war apparatus, representing ever so much of human energy, all the effort uselessly spent in the production of
arms and implements of destruction, the loss of life and the fostering of a barbarous spirit, we are appalled at the inestimable
loss to mankind which the existence of these deplorable conditions must involve. What can we do to combat best this great
evil?
Law and order absolutely require the maintenance of organized force. No community can exist and prosper without rigid
discipline. Every country must be able to defend itself, should the necessity arise. The conditions of to-day are not the result
of yesterday, and a radical change cannot be effected to-morrow. If the nations would at once disarm, it is more than likely
that a state of things worse than war itself would follow. Universal peace is a beautiful dream, but not at once realizable. We
have seen recently that even the noble effort of the man invested with the greatest worldly power has been virtually without
effect. And no wonder, for the establishment of universal peace is, for the time being, a physical impossibility. War is a
negative force, and cannot be turned in a positive direction without passing through, the intermediate phases. It is a problem
of making a wheel, rotating one way; turn in the opposite direction without slowing it down, stopping it, and speeding it up
again the other way.
It has been argued that the perfection of guns of great destructive power will stop warfare. So I myself thought for a long
time, but now I believe this to be a profound mistake. Such developments will greatly modify, but not arrest it. On the
contrary, I think that every new arm that is invented, every new departure that is made in this direction, merely invites new
talent and skill, engages new effort, offers new incentive, and so only gives a fresh impetus to further development. Think of
the discovery of gun-powder. Can we conceive of any more radical departure than was affected by this innovation? Let us
imagine ourselves living in that period: would we not have thought then that warfare was at an end, when the armor of the
knight became an object of ridicule, when bodily strength and skill, meaning so much before, became of comparatively little
value? Yet gunpowder did not stop warfare: quite the opposite it acted as a most powerful incentive. Nor do I believe that
warfare can ever be arrested by any scientific or ideal development, so long as similar conditions to those prevailing now exist,
because war has itself become a science, and because war involves some of the most sacred sentiments of which man are
capable. In fact, it is doubtful whether men who would not be ready to fight for a high principle would be good for anything at
all. It is not the mind which makes man, nor is it the body; it is mind and body. Our virtues and our failings are inseparable,
like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more.
Another argument, which carries considerable force, is frequently made, namely, that war must soon become impossible be
cause the means of defense are outstripping the means of attack. This is only in accordance with a fundamental law which may
be expressed by the statement that it is easier to destroy than to build. This law defines human capacities and human
conditions. Were these such that it would be easier build than to destroy, man would go on unresisted, creating and
accumulating without limit. Such conditions are not of this earth. A being which could do this would not be a man: it might be
a god. Defense will always have the advantage over attack, but this alone, it seems to me, can never stop war. By the use of
new principles of defense we can render harbors impregnable against attack, but we cannot by such means prevent two
warships meeting in battle on the high sea. And then, if we follow this idea to its ultimate development, we are led to the
conclusion that it would be better for mankind if attack and defense were just oppositely related; for if every country, even
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
the smallest, could surround itself with a wall absolutely impenetrable, and could defy the rest of the world, a state of things
ould surely be brought on which would be extremely unfavorable to human progress. It is by abolishing all the barriers which
uch smaller in amount, while incomparably more effective.
d
um
,
weak was entirely at the mercy of the strong. The weak individual then began to learn how to defend himself. He
ade use of a club, stone, spear, sling, or bow and arrow, and in the course of time, instead of physical strength, intelligence
f specifically great power, but only a few individuals will be required to operate it. This evolution will
ring more and more into prominence a machine or mechanism with the fewest individuals as an element of warfare, and the
its.
life
vil.
re in
s
apable of acting as though it were part of a human being no
ere mechanical contrivance, comprising levers, screws, wheels, clutches, and nothing more, but a machine embodying a
efore
w
separate nations and countries that civilization is best furthered.
Again, it is contended by some that the advent of the flying-machine must bring on universal peace. This, too, I believe to be
an entirely erroneous view. The flying-machine is certainly coming, and very soon, but the conditions will remain the same as
before. In fact, I see no reason why a ruling power, like Great Britain, might not govern the air as well as the sea. Withoutwishing to put myself on record as a prophet, I do not hesitate to say that the next years will see the establishment of an "air-
power," and its center may be not far from New York. But, for all that, men will fight on merrily.
The ideal development of the war principle would ultimately lead to the transformation of the whole energy of war into purely
potential, explosive energy, like that of an electrical condenser. In this form the war-energy could be maintained without
effort; it would need to be m
As regards the security of a country against foreign invasion, it is interesting to note that it depends only on the relative, an
not the absolute, number of the individuals or magnitude of the forces, and that, if every country should reduce the war-force
in the same ratio, the security would remain unaltered. An international agreement with the object of reducing to a minim
the war-force which, in view of the present still imperfect education of the masses, is absolutely indispensable, would,
therefore, seem to be the first rational step to take toward diminishing the force retarding human movement.
Fortunately, the existing conditions cannot continue indefinitely, for a new element is beginning to assert itself. A change for
the better is eminent, and I shall now endeavor to show what, according to my ideas, will be the first advance toward the
establishment of peaceful relations between nations, and by what means it will eventually be accomplished.
Let us go back to the early beginning, when the law of the stronger was the only law. The light of reason was not yet kindled
and the
m
became the chief deciding factor in the battle. The wild character was gradually softened by the awakening of noble
sentiments, and so, imperceptibly, after ages of continued progress, we have come from the brutal fight of the unreasoning
animal to what we call the "civilized warfare" of to-day, in which the combatants shake hands, talk in a friendly way, and
smoke cigars in the entr'actes, ready to engage again in deadly conflict at a signal. Let pessimists say what they like, here is an
absolute evidence of great and gratifying advance.
But now, what is the next phase in this evolution? Not peace as yet, by any means. The next change which should naturally
follow from modern developments should be the continuous diminution of the number of individuals engaged in battle. The
apparatus will be one o
b
absolutely unavoidable consequence of this will be the abandonment of large, clumsy, slowly moving, and unmanageable un
Greatest possible speed and maximum rate of energy-delivery by the war apparatus will be the main object. The loss of
will become smaller and smaller, and finally, the number of the individuals continuously diminishing; merely machines will
meet in a contest without blood-shed, the nations being simply interested, ambitious spectators. When this happy condition is
realized, peace will be assured. But, no matter to what degree of perfection rapid-fire guns, high-power cannon, explosive
projectiles, torpedo-boats, or other implements of war may be brought, no matter how destructive they may be made, that
condition can never be reached through any such development. All such implements require men for their operation; men are
indispensable parts of the machinery. Their object is to kill and to destroy. Their power resides in their capacity for doing e
So long as men meet in battle, there will be bloodshed. Bloodshed will ever keep up barbarous passion. To break this fierce
spirit, a radical departure must be made, an entirely new principle must be introduced, something that never existed befo
warfare a principle which will forcibly, unavoidably, turn the battle into a mere spectacle, a play, a contest without loss of
blood. To bring on this result men must be dispensed with: machine must fight machine. But how accomplish that which seem
impossible? The answer is simple enough: produce a machine c
m
higher principle, which will enable it to per form its duties as though it had intelligence, experience, judgment, a mind! This
conclusion is the result of my thoughts and observations which have extended through virtually my whole life, and I shall now
briefly describe how I came to accomplish that which at first seemed an unrealizable dream.
A long time ago, when I was a boy, I was afflicted with a singular trouble, which seems to have been due to an extraordinary
excitability of the retina. It was the appearance of images which, by their persistence, marred the vision of real objects and
interfered with thought. When a word was said to me, the image of the object which it designated would appear vividly b
my eyes, and many times it was impossible for me to tell whether the object I saw was real or not. This caused me great
discomfort and anxiety, and I tried hard to free myself of the spell. But for a long time I tried in vain, and it was not, as I
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clearly recollect, until I was about twelve years old that I succeeded for the first time, by an effort of the will, in banishing an
image which presented itself. My happiness will never be as complete as it was then, but, unfortunately (as I thought at that
time), the old trouble returned, and with it my anxiety. Here it was that the observations to which I refer began. I noted,
amely, that whenever the image of an object appeared before my eyes I had seen something that reminded me of it. In the
xt
which caused the thought,
nd this search for the original visual impression soon grew to be a second nature. Mt mind became automatic, as it were, and
inuously, year by year, I have,
y every thought and every act of mine, demonstrated, and do so dai ly, to my absolute satisfaction, that I am an automaton
ectrical oscillations
a circuit carried by the boat and adjusted to respond only to these oscillations.
t of consideration, for in the mechanical model it merely signified a
ess of manufacture. Whether the automation be of flesh and bone, or of wood and steel, it mattered little, provided it
till
ond
r. These requirements
it imperative to use, in the control of the automaton, instead of light or other rays, waves or disturbances which
n
first instances I thought this to be purely accidental, but soon I convinced myself that it was not so. A visual impression,
consciously or unconsciously received, invariably preceded the appearance of the image. Gradually the desire arose in me to
find out, every time, what caused the images to appear, and the satisfaction of this desire soon became a necessity. The neobservation I made was that, just as these images followed as a result of something I had seen, so also the thoughts which I
conceived were suggested in like manner. Again, I experienced the same desire to locate the image
a
in the course of years of continued, almost unconscious performance, I acquired the ability of locating every time and, as a
rule, instantly the visual impression which started the thought. Nor is this all. It was not long before I was aware that also all
my movements were prompted in the same way, and so, searching, observing, and verifying cont
b
endowed with power of movement, which merely responds to external stimuli beating upon my sense organs, and thinks and
acts and moves accordingly. I remember only one or two cases in all my life in which I was unable to locate the first impression
which prompted a movement or a thought, or even a dream.
[See Tesla Man Out of Time photograph section.]
FIG. 2. THE FIRST PRACTICAL TELAUTOMATON. A machine having all the bodily or translatory movements and the operations of the interior
mechanism controlled from a distance without wires. The crewless boat shown in the photograph contains its own motive power, propelling and
steering machinery, and numerous other accessories, all of which are controlled by transmitting from a distance, without wires, el
to
With these experiences it was only natural that, long ago, I conceived the idea of constructing an automaton which would
mechanically represent me, and which would respond, as I do myself, but, of course, in a much more primitive manner, to
external influences. Such an automaton evidently had to have motive power, organs for locomotion, directive organs, and one
or more sensitive organs so adapted as to be excited by external stimuli. This machine would, I reasoned, perform its
movements in the manner of a living being, for it would have all the chief mechanical characteristics or elements of the same.
There was still the capacity for growth, propagation, and, above all, the mind which would be wanting to make the model
complete. But growth was not necessary in this case, since a machine could be manufactured full grown, so to speak. As to the
capacity for propagation, it could likewise be left ou
proc
could perform all the duties required of it like an intelligent being. To do so, it had to have an element corresponding to the
mind, which would affect the control of all its movements and operations, and cause it to act, in any unforeseen case that
might present itself, with knowledge, reason, judgment, and experience. But this element I could easily embody in it by
conveying to it my own intelligence, my own understanding. So this invention was evolved, and so a new art came into
existence, for which the name "telautomatics" has been suggested, which means the art of controlling the movements and
operations of distant automatons. This principle evidently was applicable to any kind of machine that moves on land or in the
water or in the air. In applying it practically for the first time, I selected a boat (see Fig. 2). A storage battery placed within it
furnished the motive power. The propeller, driven by a motor, represented the locomotive organs. The rudder, controlled by
another motor likewise driven by the battery, took the place of the directive organs. As to the sensitive organ, obviously the
first thought was to utilize a device responsive to rays of light, like a selenium cell, to represent the human eye. But upon
closer inquiry I found that, owing to experimental and other difficulties, no thoroughly satisfactory control of the automaton
could be effected by light, radiant heat, hertzian radiations, or by rays in general, that is, disturbances which pass in straight
lines through space. One of the reasons was that any obstacle coming between the operator and the distant automaton would
place it beyond his control. Another reason was that the sensitive device representing the eye would have to be in a definite
position with respect to the distant controlling apparatus, and this necessity would impose great limitations in the control. S
another and very important reason was that, in using rays, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to give to the automaton
individual features or characteristics distinguishing it from other machines of this kind. Evidently the automaton should resp
only to an individual call, as a person responds to a name. Such considerations led me to conclude that the sensitive device of
the machine should correspond to the ear rather than the eye of a human being, for in this case its actions could be controlled
irrespective of intervening obstacles, regardless of its position relative to the distant controlling apparatus, and, last, but not
least, it would remain deaf and unresponsive, like a faithful servant, to all calls but that of its maste
madepropagate in all directions through space, like sound, or which follow a path of least resistance, however curved. I attained the
result aimed at by means of an electric circuit placed within the boat, and adjusted, or "tuned," exactly to electrical vibrations
of the proper kind transmitted to it from a distant "electrical oscillator." This circuit, in responding, however feebly, to the
transmitted vibrations, affected magnets and other contrivances, through the medium of which were controlled the
movements of the propeller and rudder, and also the operations of numerous other appliances.
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By the simple means described the knowledge, experience, judgment the mind, so to speak of the distant operator were
embodied in that machine, which was thus enabled to move and to perform all its operations with reason and intelligence.
behaved just like a blindfolded person obeying directions received through the ear.
The automatons so far constructed had "borrowed minds," so to speak, as each merely formed part of the distant operator who
conveyed to it his intelligent orders; but this art is only in the beginning. I purpose to show that, however impossible it maynow seem, an automaton may be contrived which will have its "own mind," and by this I mean that it will be able, independe
of any operator, left entirely to itself, to perform, in response to external influences affecting its sensitive organs, a great
variety of acts and operations as if it had intelligence. It will be able to follow a course laid out or to obey orders given far in
advance; it will be capable of distinguishing between what it ought and what it ought not to do, and of making experiences o
otherwise stated, of recording impressions which will definitely affect its subsequent actions. In fact, I have already conceived
such a plan.
Although I evolved this invention many years ago and explained it to my visitors very frequently in my laboratory
demonstrations, it was not until much later, long after I had perfected it, that it became known, when, naturally enough, it
gave rise to much discussion and to sensational reports. But the
It
nt
r,
true significance of this new art was not grasped by the
ajority, nor was the great force of the underlying principle recognized. As nearly as I could judge from the numerous
sidered as entirely impossible. Even the few who were disposed
admit the practicability of the invention saw in it merely an automobile torpedo, which was to be used for the purpose of
es not contemplate merely the change of direction of a
a
of
w fact
ain of reason, affects the
m
comments which appeared, the results I had obtained were con
to
blowing up battleships, with doubtful success. The general impression was that I contemplated simply the steering of such a
vessel by means of Hertzian or other rays. There are torpedoes steered electrically by wires, and there are means of
communicating without wires, and the above was, of course an obvious inference. Had I accomplished nothing more than this, I
should have made a small advance indeed. But the art I have evolved do
moving vessel; it affords means of absolutely controlling, in every respect, all the innumerable translatory movements, as well
as the operations of all the internal organs, no matter how many, of an individualized automaton. Criticisms to the effect that
the control of the automaton could be interfered with were made by people who do not even dream of the wonderful results
which can be accomplished by use of electrical vibrations. The world moves slowly and new truths are difficult to see.
Certainly, by the use of this principle, an arm for attack as well as defense may be provided, of a destructiveness all the
greater as the principle is applicable to submarine and aerial vessels. There is virtually no restriction as to the amount of
explosive it can carry, or as to the distance at which it can strike, and failure is almost impossible. But the force of this new
principle does not wholly reside in its destructiveness. Its advent introduces into warfare an element which never existed
before a fighting-machine without men as a means of attack and defense. The continuous development in this direction must
ultimately make war a mere contest of machines without men and without loss of life a condition which would have been
impossible without this new departure, and which, in my opinion, must be reached as preliminary to permanent peace. The
future will either bear out or disprove these views. My ideas on this subject have been put forth with deep conviction, but in
humble spirit.
The establishment of permanent peaceful relations between nations would most effectively reduce the force retarding the
human mass, and would be the best solution of this great human problem. But will the dream of universal peace ever be
realized? Let us hope that it will. When all darkness shall be dissipated by the light of science, when all nations shall be
merged into one, and patriotism shall be identical with religion, when there shall be one language, one country, one end, then
the dream will have become reality.
THE THIRD PROBLEM: HOW TO INCREASE THE FORCE ACCELERATING THE HUMAN MASS THE HARNESSING OF THE SUN'S ENERGY.
Of the three possible solutions of the main problem of increasing human energy, this is by far the most important to consider,
not only because of its intrinsic significance, but also because of its intimate bearing on all the many elements and conditions
which determine the movement of humanity. In order to proceed systematically, it would be necessary for me to dwell on all
those considerations which have guided me from the outset in my efforts to arrive at a solution, and which have led me, step
by step, to the results I shall now describe. As a preliminary study of the problem an analytical investigation, such as I have
made, of the chief forces which determine the onward movement, would be of advantage, particularly in conveying an idea of
that hypothetical "velocity" which, as explained in the beginning, is a measure of human energy; but to deal with this
specifically here, as I would desire, would lead me far beyond the scope of the present subject. Suffice it to state that the
resultant of all these forces is always in the direction of reason, which therefore, determines, at any time, the direction
human movement. This is to say that every effort which is scientifically applied, rational, useful, or practical, must be in the
direction in which the mass is moving. The practical, rational man, the observer, the man of business, he who reasons,
calculates, or determines in advance, carefully applies his effort so that when coming into effect it will be in the direction of
the movement, making it thus most efficient, and in this knowledge and ability lies the secret of his success. Every ne
discovered, every new experience or new element added to our knowledge and entering into the dom
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same and, therefore, changes the direction of movement, which, however, must always take place along the resultant of all
se
ut looking at all this busy world about us, on all this complex mass as it daily throbs and moves, what is it but an immense
;
s to live the life we live without motive power. Motive power means work. To increase the force accelerating
uman movement means, therefore, to perform more work.
s:
s a
nciples
ost
ne single center, one single source the sun. The sun is the spring that drives all. The sun maintains all human
fe and supplies all human energy. Another answer we have now found to the above great question: To increase the force
th his
he greatest of all, who can tell the name of him, who first turned to use the sun's
nergy to save the effort of a weak fellow-creature? That was man's first act of scientific philanthropy, and its consequences
s
ted in
those efforts which, at that t ime, we designate as reasonable, that is, self-preserving, useful, profitable, or practical. The
efforts concern our daily life, our necessities and comforts, our work and business, and it is these which drive man onward.
B
clock-work driven by a spring? In the morning, when we rise, we cannot fail to note that all the objects about us are
manufactured by machinery: the water we use is lifted by steam-power; the trains bring our breakfast from distant localitiesthe elevators in our dwelling and our office building, the cars that carry us there, are all driven by power; in all our daily
errands, and in our very life-pursuit, we depend upon it; all the objects we see tell us of it; and when we return to our
machine-made dwelling at night, lest we should forget it, all the material comforts of our home, our cheering stove and lamp,
remind us of how much we depend on power. And when there is an accidental stoppage of the machinery, when the city is
snowbound, or the life sustaining movement otherwise temporarily arrested, we are affrighted to realize how impossible it
would be for u
h
So we find that the three possible solutions of the great problem of increasing human energy are answered by the three word
food, peace, work. Many a year I have thought and pondered, lost myself in speculations and theories, considering man a
mass moved by a force, viewing his inexplicable movement in the light of a mechanical one, and applying the simple pri
of mechanics to the analysis of the same until I arrived at these solutions, only to realize that they were taught to me in my
early childhood. These three words sound the key-notes of the Christian religion. Their scientific meaning and purpose now
clear to me: food to increase the mass, peace to diminish the retarding force, and work to increase the force accelerating
human movement. These are the only three solutions which are possible of that great problem, and all of them have one
object, one end, namely, to increase human energy. When we recognize this, we cannot help wondering how profoundly wise
and scientific and how immensely practical the Christian religion is, and in what a marked contrast it stands in this respect to
other religions. It is unmistakably the result of practical experiment and scientific observation which have extended through
the ages, while other religions seem to be the outcome of merely abstract reasoning. Work, untiring effort, useful and
accumulative, with periods of rest and recuperation aiming at higher efficiency, is its chief and ever-recurring command. Thus
we are inspired both by Christianity and Science to do our utmost toward increasing the performance of mankind. This m
important of human problems I shall now specifically consider.
THE SOURCE OF HUMAN ENERGY THE THREE WAYS OF DRAWING ENERGY FROM THE SUN.
First let us ask: Whence comes all the motive power? What is the spring that drives all? We see the ocean rise and fall, the
rivers flow, the wind, rain, hail, and snow beat on our windows, the trains and steamers come and go; we here the rattling
noise of carriages, the voices from the street; we feel, smell, and taste; and we think of all this. And all this movement, from
the surging of the mighty ocean to that subtle movement concerned in our thought, has but one common cause. All this energy
emanates from o
li
accelerating human movement means to turn to the uses of man more of the sun's energy. We honor and revere those great
men of bygone times whose names are linked with immortal achievements, who have proved themselves benefactors of
humanity the religious reformer with his wise maxims of life, the philosopher with his deep truths, the mathematician wi
formul , the physicist with his laws, the discover with his principles and secrets wrested from nature, the artist with his forms
of the beautiful; but who honors him, t
e
have been incalculable.
From the very beginning three ways of drawing energy from the sun were open to man. The savage, when he warmed his
frozen limbs at a fire kindled in some way, availed himself of the energy of the sun stored in the burning material. When he
carried a bundle of branches to his cave and burned them there, he made use of the sun's stored energy transported from one
to another locality. When he set sail to his canoe, he utilized the energy of the sun applied to the atmosphere or the ambient
medium. There can be no doubt that the first is the oldest way. A fire, found accidentally, taught the savage to appreciate it
beneficial heat. He then very likely conceived of the idea of carrying the glowing members to his abode. Finally he learned to
use the force of a swift current of water or air. It is characteristic of modern development that progress has been effec
the same order. The utilization of the energy stored in wood or coal, or, generally speaking, fuel, led to the steam-engine.
Next a great stride in advance was made in energy-transportation by the use of electricity, which permitted the transfer of
energy from one locality to another without transporting the material. But as to the utilization of the energy of the ambient
medium, no radical step forward has as yet been made known.
The ultimate results of development in these three directions are: first, the burning of coal by a cold process in a battery;
second, the efficient utilization of the energy of the ambient medium; and, third the transmission without wires of electrical
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energy to any distance. In whatever way these results may be arrived at, their practical application will necessarily involve an
extensive use of iron, and this invaluable metal will undoubtedly be an essential element in the further development along
these three lines. If we succeed in burning coal by a cold process and thus obtain electrical energy in an efficient and
inexpensive manner, we shall require in many practical uses of this energy electric motors that is, iron. If we are successful in
lled to
ergy, it
PERFORMANCE ENORMOUS WASTE IN IRON MANUFACTURE.
r
el
s
, say,
nations should be turned into healthful, ever active and
roductive commercial competition, then the positive impelling force due to iron would be measured by the sum of those two,
xample is, of course, merely
tended to give an idea of the immense increase in the useful performance of mankind which would result from a radical
s to
, or
y of
le iron to be manufactured at small cost. After a prolonged investigation of the subject, finding that
was unprofitable to use the currents generated directly for smelting the ore, I devised a method which is far more
at
as a by-product of the decomposition of the water I intended
use for certain other industrial purposes, which would probably yield good financial returns, inasmuch as this is the cheapest
on,
deriving energy from the ambient medium, we shall need, both in the obtainment and utilization of the energy, machinery
again, iron. If we realize the transmission of electrical energy without wires on an industrial scale, we shall be compe
use extensively electric generators once more, iron. Whatever we may do, iron will probably be the chief means ofaccomplishment in the near future, possibly more so than in the past. How long its reign will last is difficult to tell, for even
now aluminium is looming up as a threatening competitor. But for the time being, next to providing new resources of en
is of the greatest importance to making improvements in the manufacture and utilization of iron. Great advances are possible
in these latter directions, which, if brought about, would enormously increase the useful performance of mankind.
GREAT POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY IRON FOR INCREASING HUMAN
Iron is by far the most important factor in modern progress. It contributes more than any other industrial product to the force
accelerating human movement. So general is the use of this metal, and so intimately is it connected with all that concerns ou
life, that it has become as indispensable to us as the very air we breathe. Its name is synonymous with usefulness. But,
however great the influence of iron may be on the present human development, it does not add to the force urging man
onward nearly as much as it might. First of all, its manufacture as now carried on is connected with an appalling waste of fu
that is, waste of energy. Then, again, only a part of all the iron produced is applied for useful purposes. A good part of it goe
to create frictional resistances, while still another large part is the means of developing negative forces greatly retarding
human movement. Thus the negative force of war is almost wholly represented in iron. It is impossible to estimate with any
degree of accuracy the magnitude of this greatest of all retarding forces, but it is certainly very considerable. If the present
positive impelling force due to all useful applications of iron be represented by ten, for instance, I should not think it
exaggeration to estimate the negative force of war, with due consideration of all its retarding influences and results, at
six. On the basis of this estimate the effective impelling force of iron in the positive direction would be measured by the
difference of these two numbers, which is four. But if, through the establishment of universal peace, the manufacture of war
machinery should cease, and all struggle for supremacy between
p
numbers, which is sixteen that is, this force would have four times its present value. This e
in
reform of the iron industries supplying the implements of warfare.
A similar inestimable advantage in the saving of energy available to man would be secured by obviating the great waste of coal
which is inseparably connected with the present methods of manufacturing iron. In some countries, such as Great Britain, the
hurtful effects of this squandering of fuel are beginning to be felt. The price of coal is constantly rising, and the poor are made
to suffer more and more. Though we are still far from the dreaded "exhaustion of the coalfields," phi lanthropy commands u
invent novel methods of manufacturing iron, which will not involve such barbarous waste of this valuable material from which
we derive at present most of our energy. It is our duty to coming generations to leave this store of energy intact for them
at least not to touch it until we shall have perfected processes for burning coal more efficiently. Those who are coming after
us will need fuel more than we do. We should be able to manufacture the iron we require by using the sun's energy, without
wasting any coal at all. As an effort to this end the idea of smelting iron ores by electric currents obtained from the energ
falling water has naturally suggested itself to many. I have myself spent much time in endeavoring to evolve such a practical
process, which would enab
it
economical.
ECONOMICAL PRODUCTION OF IRON BY A NEW PROCESS.
The industrial project, as I worked it out six years ago, contemplated the employment of the electric currents derived from the
energy of a waterfall, not directly for smelting the ore, but for decomposing water for a preliminary step. To lessen the cost of
the plant, I proposed to generate the currents in exceptionally cheap and simple dynamos, which I designed for this sole
purpose. The hydrogen liberated in the electrolytic decomposition was to be burned or recombined with oxygen, not with th
from which it was separated, but with that of the atmosphere. Thus very nearly the total electrical energy used up in the
decomposition of the water would be recovered in the form of heat resulting from the recombination of the hydrogen. This
heat was to be applied to the smelting of ore. The oxygen gained
to
way of obtaining this gas in large quantities. In any event, it could be employed to burn all kinds of refuse, cheap hydrocarb
or coal of the most inferior quality which could not be burned in air or be otherwise utilized to advantage, and thus again a
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considerable amount of heat would be made available for the smelting of the ore. To increase the economy of the process I
contemplated, furthermore, using an arrangement such that the hot metal and the products of combustion, coming out of th
furnace, would give up their heat upon the cold ore going into the furnace, so that comparatively little of the heat energy
would be lost in the smelting. I calculated that probably forty thousand pounds of iron could be produced per horse-power per
annum by this method. Liberal allowances were made for those losses which are unavoidable, the above quantity being abou
half of that theoretically obtainable. Relying on this estimate and on practical data with reference to a certain kind of sand o
existing in abundance in the region of the Great Lakes, including cost of transportation and labor, I found that in somelocalities iron could be manufactured in this manner cheaper than by any of the adopted methods. This result would be
obtained all the more surely if the oxygen obtained from the water, instead of being used for smelting of ore, as assumed,
should be more profitably employed. Any new demand for this gas would secure higher revenue from the plant, thus
cheapening the iron. This project was advanced merely in the interest of industry. Some day, I hope, a beautiful indu
b
e
t
re
strial
utterfly will come out of the dusty and shriveled chrysalis.
es
o waste of coal; but the usefulness of this method is largely reduced by the necessity of melting the iron afterward. As to the
e. In
ld
e
ago,
e
t
HE COMING OF AGE OF ALUMINIUM DOOM OF THE COPPER INDUSTRY THE GREAT CIVILIZING POTENCY OF THE NEW METAL.
w
ed
many cents. What is more, the time is not far off when this price, too, will be considered fanciful, for great
provements are possible in the methods of its manufacture. Most of the metal is now produced in the electric furnace by a
umber of advantageous features, but involves naturally a great
aste of the electrical energy of the current. My estimates show that the price of aluminium could be considerably reduced by
at-
r
The production of iron from sand ores by a process of magnetic separation is highly commendable in principle, since it involv
n
crushing of iron ore, I would consider it rational only if done by water-power, or by energy otherwise obtained without
consumption of fuel. An electrolytic cold process, which would make it possible to extract iron cheaply, and also to mold it
into the required forms without any fuel consumption, would, in my opinion, be a very great advance in iron manufactur
common with some other metals, iron has so far resisted electrolytic treatment, but there can be no doubt that such a co
process will ultimately replace in metallurgy the present crude method of casting, and thus obviating the enormous waste of
fuel necessitated by the repeated heating of metal in the foundries.
Up to a few decades ago the usefulness of iron was based almost wholly on its remarkable mechanical properties, but since th
advent of the commercial dynamo and electric motor its value to mankind has been greatly increased by its unique magnetic
qualities. As regards the latter, iron has been greatly improved of late. The signal progress began about thirteen years
when I discovered that in using soft Bessemer steel instead of wrought iron, as then customary, in an alternating motor, the
performanceof the machine was doubled. I brought this fact to the attention of Mr. Albert Schmid, to whose untiring efforts
and ability is largely due the supremacy of American electrical machinery, and who was then superintendent of an industrial
corporation engaged in this field. Following my suggestion, he constructed transformers of steel, and they showed the sam
marked improvement. The investigation was then systematically continued under Mr. Schmid's guidance, the impurities being
gradually eliminated from the"steel" (which was only such in name, for in reality it was pure soft iron), and soon a produc
resulted which admitted of little further improvement.
T
With the advances made in iron of late years we have arrived virtually at the limits of improvement. We cannot hope to
increase very materially its tensile strength, elasticity, hardness, or malleability, nor can we expect to make it much better as
regards its magnetic qualities. More recently a notable gain was secured by the mixture of a small percentage of nickel with
the iron, but there is not much room for further advance in this direction. New discoveries may be expected, but they cannot
greatly add to the valuable properties of the metal, though they may considerably reduce the cost of manufacture. The
immediate future of iron is assured by its cheapness and its unrivaled mechanical and magnetic qualities. These are such that
no other product can compete with it now. But there can be no doubt that, at a time not very distant, iron, in many of its no
uncontested domains, will have to pass the scepter to another: the coming age will be the age of aluminium. It is only seventy
years since this wonderful metal was discovered by Woehler, and the aluminium industry, scarcely forty years old, commands
already the attention of the entire world. Such rapid growth has not been recorded in the history of civilization before. Not
long ago aluminium was sold at the fanciful price of thirty or forty dollars per pound; to-day it can be had in any desir
amount for as
im
process combining fusion and electrolysis, which offers a n
w
adopting in its manufacture a method similar to that proposed by me for the production of iron. A pound of aluminium requires
for fusion only about seventy per cent. of the heat needed for melting a pound of iron, and inasmuch as its weight is only about
one third of that of the latter, a volume of aluminium four times that of iron could be obtained from a given amount of he
energy. But a cold electrolytic process of manufacture is the ideal solution, and on this I have placed my hope.
The absolutely unavoidable consequence of the advancement of the aluminium industry will be the annihilation of the coppe
industry. They cannot exist and prosper together, and the latter is doomed beyond any hope of recovery. Even now it is
cheaper to convey an electric current through aluminium wires than through copper wires; an aluminium casting cost less, and
in many domestic and other uses copper has no chance of successfully competing. A further material reduction of the price of
aluminium cannot but be fatal to copper. But the progress of the former will not go on unchecked, for, as it ever happens in
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
such cases, the larger industry will absorb the smaller one: the giant copper interests will control the pygmy aluminium
interests, and the slow-pacing copper will reduce the lively gait of aluminium. This will only delay, not avoid the impending
catastrophe.
Aluminium, however, will not stop at downing copper. Before many years have passed it will be engaged in a fierce struggle
with iron, and in the latter it will find an adversary not easy to conquer. The issue of the contest will largely depend on
whether iron shall be indispensable in electric machinery. This the future alone can decide. Themagnetism as exhibitedis an isolated phenomenon in nature. What it is that makes this metal behave so radically different from all other materi
this respect has not yet been ascertained, though many theories have been suggested. As regards magnetism, the molecules
the various bodies behave like hollow beams partly filled with a heavy fluid and balanced in the middle in the manner
saw. Evidently some disturbing influence exists in nature which causes each molecule, like such a beam, to tilt either one o
the other way. If the molecules are tilted one way, the body is
in ironals in
of
of a see-
r
magnetic; if they are tilted the other way, the body is non-
agnetic; but both positions are stable, as they would be in the case of the hollow beam, owing to the rush of the fluid to the
l;
y
are capable of performing ten times as much work per
ound of weight as those of iron. This result is attained by using electric currents of a very high rate of vibration, produced in
t
hile it is impossible to tell when this industrial revolution will be consummated, there can be no doubt that the future
spect capacities greater by far than those of any other metal. I should estimate its civilizing potency at fully one hundred
here is
gress.
n
or
y
e in the
volution toward something much more perfect. After all, in generating electricity in this manner, we should be destroying
otive
a
m
lower end. Now, the wonderful thing is that the molecules of all known bodies went one way, while those of iron went the
other way. This metal, it would seem, has an origin entirely different from that of the rest of the globe. It is highly improbable
that we shall discover some other and cheaper material which will equal or surpass iron in magnetic qualities.
Unless we should make a radical departure in the character of the electric currents employed, iron will be indispensable. Yet
the advantages it offers are only apparent. So long as we use feeble magnetic forces it is by far superior to any other materia
but if we find ways of producing great magnetic forces, than better results will be obtainable without it. In fact, I have alread
produced electric transformers in which no iron is employed, and which
p
novel ways, instead of the ordinary currents now employed in the industries. I have also succeeded in operating electric motors
without iron by such rapidly vibrating currents, but the results, so far, have been inferior to those obtained with ordinary
motors constructed of iron, although theoretically the former should be capable of performing incomparably more work per
unit of weight than the latter. But the seemingly insuperable difficulties which are now in the way may be overcome in the
end, and then iron will be done away with, and all electric machinery will be manufactured of aluminium, in all probability, a
prices ridiculously low. This would be a severe, i f not fatal, blow to iron. In many other branches of industry, as ship-building,
or wherever lightness of structure is required, the progress of the new metal will be much quicker. For such uses it is
eminently suitable, and is sure to supersede iron sooner or later. It is highly probable that in the course of time we shall be
able to give it many of those qualities which make iron so valuable.
W
belongs to aluminium, and that in times to come it will be the chief means of increasing human performance. It has in this
re
times that of iron. This estimate, though it may astonish, is not at all exaggerated. First of all, we must remember that t
thirty times as much aluminium as iron in bulk, available for the uses of man. This in itself offers great possibilities. Then,
again, the new metal is much more easily workable, which adds to its value. In many of its properties it partakes of the
character of a precious metal, which gives it additional worth. Its electric conductivity, which, for a given weight, is greater
than that of any other metal, would be alone sufficient to make it one of the most important factors in future human pro
Its extreme lightness makes it far more easy to transport the objects manufactured. By virtue of this property it will
revolutionize naval construction, and in facilitating transport and travel it will add enormously to the useful performance of
mankind. But its greatest civilizing property will be, I believe, in a rial travel, which is sure to be brought about by means of it.
Telegraphic instruments will slowly enlighten the barbarian. Electric motors and lamps will do it more quickly, but quicker tha
anything else the flying-machine will do it. By rendering travel ideally easy it will be the best means for unifying the
heterogeneous elements of humanity. As the first step toward this realization we should produce a lighter storage-battery
get more energy from coal.
EFFORTS TOWARD OBTAINING MORE ENERGY FROM COAL THE ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION THE GAS-ENGINE THE COLD-COAL
BATTERY.
I remember that at one time I considered the production of electricity by burning coal in a battery as the greatest achievement
toward the advancing civilization, and I am surprised to find how much the continuous study of these subjects has modified m
views. It now seems to me that to burn coal, however efficiently, in a battery would be a mere makeshift, a phas
e
material, and this would be a barbarous process. We ought to be able to obtain the energy we need without consumption of
material. But I am far from underrating the value of such an efficient method of burning fuel. At the present time most m
power comes from coal, and, either directly or by its products, it adds vastly to human energy. Unfortunately, in all the
process now adopted, the larger portion of the energy of the coal is uselessly dissipated. The best steam-engines utilize only a
small part of the total energy. Even in gas-engines, in which, particularly of late, better results are obtainable, there is still
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
reached, I think, in the latter part of 1883, when I was in Paris, and it was at a time when my mind was being more and more
hich has since become known under the name
wed I elaborated further the plan I had imagined, and studied
he working conditions, but made little headway. The commercial introduction in this country of the invention before referred
f-acting machine. A closer investigation of
at could not be reached in a practical manner by
to the study of a type of engine generallyI found, however, that
a peculiar kind could be brought to a high
ceed with the development of such an
rmation of heat into mechanical energy. A
nnected with anything else, but was
ered in the construction of this engine were
ed, deeply impressed
ith what I had seen, and more than ever convinced that my plan was practicable. The work temporarily interrupted was taken
g
t
g,
s
ot; it takes coal to keep air cold. In oxygen manufacture it cannot yet compete with the electrolytic method. For use as an
xplosive it is unsuitable, because its low temperature again condemns it to a small efficiency, and for motive-power purposes
nergy may be gained from the engine, or, stated otherwise, from the ambient medium which keeps the engine warm, each
gy
dominated by an invention which I had evolved during the preceding year, and w
of the "rotating magnetic field." During the few years which follo
t
to required most of my energies until 1889, when I again took up the idea of the sel
the principles involved, and calculation, now showed that the result I aimed
ordinary machinery, as I had in the beginning expected. This led me, as a next step,designated as "turbine," which at first seemed to offer better chances for a realization of the idea. Soon
the turbine, too, was unsuitable. But my conclusions showed that if an engine of
degree of perfection, the plan I had conceived was realizable, and I resolved to pro
engine, the primary object of which was to secure the greatest economy of transfo
characteristic feature of the engine was that the work-performing piston was not co
perfectly free to vibrate at an enormous rate. The mechanical difficulties encount
greater than I had anticipated, and I made slow progress. This work was continued until early in 1892, when I went to London,
where I saw Professor Dewar's admirable experiments with liquefied gases. Others had liquefied gases before, and notably
Ozlewski and Pictet had performed creditable early experiments in this line, but there was such a vigor about the work of
Dewar that even the old appeared new. His experiments showed, though in a way different from that I had imagined, that it
was possible to reach a very low temperature by transforming heat into mechanical work, and I return
w
up anew, and soon I had in a fair state of perfection the engine which I have named "the mechanical oscillator." In this machine
I succeeded in doing away with all packings, valves, and lubrication, and in producing so rapid a vibration of the piston that
shafts of tough steel, fastened to the same and vibrated longitudinally, were torn asunder. By combining this engine with a
dynamo of special design I produced a highly efficient electrical generator, invaluable in measurements and determinations of
physical quantities on account of the unvarying rate of oscillation obtainable by its means. I exhibited several types of this
machine, named "mechanical and electrical oscillator," before the Electrical Congress at the World's Fair in Chicago during the
summer of 1893, in a lecture which, on account of other pressing work, I was unable to prepare for publication. On that
occasion I exposed the principles of the mechanical oscillator, but the original purpose of this machine is explained here for
the first time.
In the process, as I had primarily conceived it, for the utilization of the energy of the ambient medium, there were five
essential elements in combination, and each of these had to be newly designed and perfected, as no such machines existed.
The mechanical oscillator was the first element of this combination, and having perfected this, I turned to the next, which was
an air-compressor of a design in certain respects resembling that of the mechanical oscillator. Similar difficulties in the
construction were again encountered, but the work was pushed vigorously, and at the close of 1894 I had completed these two
elements of the combination, and thus produced an apparatus for compressing air, virtually to any desired pressure,
incomparably simpler, smaller, and more efficient than the ordinary. I was just beginning work on the third element, which
together with the first two would give a refrigerating machine of exceptional efficiency and simplicity, when a misfortune
befell me in the burning of my laboratory, which crippled my labors and delayed me. Shortly afterward Dr. Carl Linde
announced the liquefaction of air by a self-cooling process, demonstrating that it was practicable to proceed with the coolin
until liquefaction of the air took place. This was the only experimental proof which I was still wanting that energy was
obtainable from the medium in the manner contemplated by me.
The liquefaction of air by a self-cooling process was not, as popularly believed, an accidental discovery, but a scientific resul
which could not have been delayed much longer, and which, in all probability, could not have escaped Dewar. This fascinating
advance, I believe, is largely due to the powerful work of this great Scotchman. Nevertheless, Linde's is an immortal
achievement. The manufacture of liquid air has been carried on for four years in Germany, on a scale much larger than in any
other country, and this strange product has been applied for a variety of purposes. Much was expected of it in the beginnin
but so far it has been an industrial ignis fatuus. By the use of such machinery as I am perfecting, its cost will probably be
greatly lessened, but even then its commercial success will be questionable. When, used as a refrigerant it is uneconomical, a
its temperature is unnecessarily low. It is as expensive to maintain a body at a very low temperature as it is to keep it very
h
e
its cost is still by far too high. It is of interest to note, however, that in driving an engine by liquid air a certain amount of
e
two hundred pounds of iron-casting of the latter contributing energy at the rate of about one effective horsepower during one
hour. But this gain of the consumer is offset by an equal loss of the producer.
Much of this task on which I have labored so long remains to be done. A number of mechanical details are still to be perfected
and some difficulties of a different nature to be mastered, and I cannot hope to produce a self-acting machine deriving ener
from the ambient medium for a long time yet, even if all my expectations should materialize. Many circumstances have
8/3/2019 25304576 the Problem of Increasing Human Energy by Nikola Tesla
FIG. 3. EXPERIMENT TO ILLUSTRATE THE SUPPLYING OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY THROUGH A SINGLE WIRE WITHOUT RETURN
Fig. 3 illustrates, as its title explains, an actual transmission of this kind affected with apparatus used
will appear when I state that I have now no difficulty in lighting in this manner four or five hundred lamps, and
s
conductor, thus dispensing with all wires. Whatever electricity may be, it is a fact that it behaves like an incompressible
he coil was
ated,
connection with
stationary contact c'', starting in this manner some electrical or other appliances which may be used for recording the signals.
,
d vertically to a height, representing the two tuning-forks with the pistons attached to them. These
ircuits are connected with the ground by plates E, E 1, and to two elevated metal sheets P,
An ordinary incandescent lamp, connected with one or both of its terminals to the wire forming the upper free end of the coil shown in the
photograph, is lighted by electrical vibrations conveyed to it through the coil from an electrical oscillator, which is worked only to one fifth of one
per cent. of its full capacity.
The photograph shown in
in other experiments here described. To what a degree the appliances have been perfected since my first demonstrations early
in 1891 before a scientific society, when my apparatus was barely capable of lighting one lamp (which result was considered
wonderful),
could light many more. In fact, there is no limit to the amount of energy which may in this way be supplied to operate any kind
of electrical device.
[See Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 354, Photograph XXVI.]
FIG. 4. EXPERIMENT TO ILLUSTRATE THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY THROUGH THE EARTH WITHOUT WIRE.
The coil shown in the photograph has its lower end or terminal connected to the ground, and is exactly attuned to the vibrations of a distant
electrical oscillator. The lamp lighted is in an independent wire loop, energized by induction from the coil excited by the electrical vibrationstransmitted to it through the ground from the oscillator, which is worked only to five per cent. of its full capacity.
After demonstrating the practicability of this method of transmission, the thought naturally occurred to me to use the earth a
a
fluid, and the earth may be looked upon as an immense reservoir of electricity, which, I thought, could be disturbed
effectively by a properly designed electrical machine. Accordingly, my next efforts were directed toward perfecting a special
apparatus which would be highly effective in creating a disturbance of electricity in the earth. The progress in this new
direction was necessarily very slow and the work discouraging, until I finally succeeded in perfecting a novel kind of
transformer or induction-coil, particularly suited for this special purpose. That it is practicable, in this manner, not only to
transmit minute amounts of electrical energy for operating delicate electrical devices, as I contemplated at first, but also
electrical energy in appreciable quantities, will appear from an inspection of Fig. 4, which illustrates an actual experiment of
this kind performed with the same apparatus. The result obtained was all the more remarkable as the top end of t
not connected to a wire or plate for magnifying the effect.
"WIRELESS" TELEGRAPHY THE SECRET OF TUNING ERRORS IN THE HERTZIAN INVESTIGATIONS A RECEIVER OF WONDERFUL
SENSITIVENESS.
As the first valuable result of my experiments in this latter line a system of telegraphy without wires resulted, which I
described in two scientific lectures in February and March, 1893. It is mechanically illustrated in diagram c, the upper part of
which shows the electrical arrangement as I described it then, while the lower part illustrates its mechanical analogue. The
system is extremely simple in principle. Imagine two tuning-forks F, F 1, one at the sending- and the other at the receiving-
station respectively, each having attached to its lower prong a minute piston p, fitting in a cylinder. Both the cylinders
communicate with a large reservoir R, with elastic walls, which is supposed to be closed and filled with a light and
incompressible fluid. By striking repeatedly one of the prongs of the tuning-fork F , the small piston p below would be vibr
and its vibrations, transmitted through the fluid, would reach the distant fork F 1, which is "tuned" to the fork F , or, stated
otherwise, of exactly the same note as the latter. The fork F 1 would now be set vibrating, and its vibration would be intensified
by the continued action of the distant fork F until its upper prong, swinging far out, would make an electrical
a
In this simple way messages could be exchanged between the two stations, a similar contact c' being provided for this purpose
close to the upper prong of the fork F , so that the apparatus at each station could be employed in turn as receiver and
transmitter.
DIAGRAM c. "WIRELESS" TELEGRAPHY MECHANICALLY ILLUSTRATED.
The electrical system illustrated in the upper figure of diagram c is exactly the same in principle, the two wires or circuits ESP
and E 1S1P 1, which exten
c
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P 1, which store electricity and thus magnify considerably
in
this case replaced by the earth, and the fluid by
erate
F
at the sending-station, electrical oscillations are produced
the effect. The closed reservoir R, with elastic walls, is
electricity. Both of these circuits are "tuned" and op
just like the two tuning-forks. Instead of striking the fork
in the vertical sending- or transmitting-wire ESP , as by theaction of a source S, included in this wire, which spread
through the ground and reach the distant vertical
receiving-wire E 1S1P 1, exciting corresponding electrical
oscillations in the same.
In the latter wire or circuit is included a sensitive device or receiver S1, which is thus set in action and made to operate
ce of electrical oscillations S and a sensitive
S1, and a simple provision is made for using each of the two wires alternately to send and to receive the messages.
Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 326, Photograph V.]
ils ,
electrical oscillator. The large
oil on the right, discharging strongly, is tuned to the fundamental vibration, which is fifty thousand per second; the two larger vertical coils to twice
nces
in
l to
s, used generally by experimenters, which produces oscillations
rate, permits no effective tuning, and slight disturbances are sufficient to render an exchange of messages
ratus repeatedly referred to, and intended to convey an idea of this feature, is illustrated in Fig. 5, which is
d an
as being all
s he employed are, as a rule, much slower, this being due to the presence of air, which
ces a dampening effect upon a rapidly vibrating electric circuit of high pressure, as a fluid does upon a vibrating tuning-
fork. I have, however, discovered since that time other causes of error, and I have long ago ceased to look upon his results as
being an experimental verification of the poetical conceptions of Maxwell. The work of the great German physicist has acted as
n immense stimulus to contemporary electrical research, but it has likewise, in a measure, by its fascination, paralyzed the
henomenon which was discovered was made to fit the
eory, and so very often the truth has been unconsciously distorted.
transcendent importance,
hiefly on account of the moral effect which it could not fail to produce universally. As the first effort to this end I proposed at
that time, to employ relay-stations with tuned circuits, in the hope of making thus practicable signaling over vast distances,
a relay or other appliance. Each station is, of course, provided both with a sour
receiver
[See
FIG. 5. PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEW OF THE COILS RESPONDING TO ELECTRICAL OSCILLATIONS. The picture shows a number of co
differently attuned and responding to the vibrations transmitted to them through the earth from an
c
that number; the smaller white wire coil to four times that number, and the remaining small coils to higher tones. The vibrations produced by the
oscillator were so intense that they affected perceptibly a small coil tuned to the twenty-sixth higher tone.
The exact attunement of the two circuits secures great advantages, and, in fact, it is essential in the practical use of the
system. In this respect many popular errors exist, and, as a rule, in the technical reports on this subject circuits and applia
are described as affording these advantages when from their very nature it is evident that this is impossible. In order to atta
the best results it is essential that the length of each wire or circuit, from the ground connection to the top, should be equa
one quarter of the wave-length of the electrical vibration in the wire, or else equal to that length multiplied by an odd
number. Without the observation of this rule it is virtually impossible to prevent the interference and insure the privacy of
messages. Therein lies the secret of tuning. To obtain the most satisfactory results it is, however, necessary to resort to
electrical vibrations of low pitch. The Hertzian spark apparatu
of a very high
impracticable. But scientifically designed, efficient appliances allow nearly perfect adjustment. An experiment performed with
the improved appa
sufficiently explained by its note.
Since I described these simple principles of telegraphy without wires I have had frequent occasion to note that the identical
features and elements have been used, in the evident belief that the signals are being transmitted to considerable distance by
"Hertzian" radiations. This is only one of many misapprehensions to which the investigations of the lamented physicist have
given rise. About thirty-three years ago Maxwell, following up a suggestive experiment made by Faraday in 1845, evolve
ideally simple theory which intimately connected light, radiant heat, and electrical phenomena, interpreting them
due to vibrations of a hypothetical fluid of inconceivable tenuity, called the ether. No experimental verification was arrived at
until Hertz, at the suggestion of Helmholtz, undertook a series of experiments to this effect. Hertz proceeded with
extraordinary ingenuity and insight, but devoted little energy to the perfection of his old-fashioned apparatus. The
consequence was that he failed to observe the important function which the air played in his experiments, and which I
subsequently discovered. Repeating his experiments and reaching different results, I ventured to point out this oversight. The
strength of the proofs brought forward by Hertz in support of Maxwell's theory resided in the correct estimate of the rates of
vibration of the circuits he used. But I ascertained that he could not have obtained the rates he thought he was getting. The
vibrations with identical apparatu
produ
a
scientific mind, and thus hampered independent inquiry. Every new p
th
When I advanced this system of telegraphy, my mind was dominated by the idea of effecting communication to any distance
through the earth or environing medium, the practical consummation of which I considered of
c
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FIG. 8. EXPERIMENT TO ILLUSTRATE THE CAPACITY OF THE OSCILLATOR FOR PRODUCING ELECTRICAL EXPLOSIONS OF GREAT
POWER. Note to Fig. 8. The coil, partly shown in the photograph, creates an alternative movement of electricity from the earth
into a large reservoir and back at a rate of one hundred thousand alternations per second. The adjustments are such tha
reservoir is f illed full and bursts at each alternation just at the moment when the electrical pressure reaches the maximum. The discharge esca
with a deafening noise, striking an unconnected coil twenty-two feet away, and creating such a commotion of electricity in the earth that sparks an
inch long can be drawn from a water main at a distance of three hundred feet from the laboratory.
[See Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 390, Photograph LXII.]
FIG. 9. EXPERIMENT TO ILLUSTRATE THE CAPACITY ON THE OSCILLATOR FOR CREATING A GREAT ELECTRICAL MOVEMENT.
The ball shown in the photograph, covered with a polished metallic coating of twenty square feet of surface, represents a large reservoir of
electricity, and the inverted tin pan underneath, with a sharp rim, a big opening through which the electricity can escape before filling the reservoir.
The quantity of electricity set in movement is so great that, although most of it escapes through the rim of the pan or opening provided, the ball o
reservoir is nevertheless alternately emptied and filled to over-flowing (as is evident from the discharge escaping on the top of the ball) one hundred
and fifty thousand times per second.
t the
pes
r
IG. 10. PHOTOGRAPHIC VIEW OF AN EXPERIMENT TO ILLUSTRATE AN EFFECT OF AN ELECTRICAL OSCILLATOR DELIVERING
by
end,
t. I
er
ation,
raise theoice and hear an echo in reply, we know that the sound of the voice must have reached a distant wall, or boundary, and must
al wave is reflected, and the same evidence which is
fforded by an echo is offered by an electrical phenomenon known as a "stationary" wave that is, a wave with fixed nodal and
oundaries of the earth, and instead of the wall the earth has replied. In place of an echo I have obtained a stationary
a
cross
ly
rty
r effecting communication without wires ought to have many
mes the working capacity of a cable, while it will involve incomparably less expense. Not a long time will pass, I believe,
naling by this new method be quicker and cheaper,
ut also much safer. By using some new means for isolating the messages which I have contrived, an almost perfect privacy can
rved the above effects so far only up to a limited distance of about six hundred miles, but inasmuch as there is
ch
is this all. My measurements and calculations have shown that it is
erfectly practicable to produce on our globe, by the use of these principles, an electrical movement of such magnitude that,
r nearer planets, as Venus and Mars. Thus from mere
ossibility interplanetary communication has entered the stage of probability. In fact, that we can produce a distinct effect on
[See Nikola Tesla: Colorado Springs Notes, page 332, Photograph IX.]
F
ENERGY AT A RATE OF SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND HORSE-POWER.
The discharge, creating a strong draft owing to the heating of the air, is carried upward through the open roof of the building. The greatest width
across is nearly seventy feet. The pressure is over twelve million volts, and the current alternates one hundred and thirty thousand times per second.
However extraordinary the results shown may appear, they are but trifling compared with those which are attainable
apparatus designed on these same principles. I have produced electrical discharges the actual path of which, from end to
was probably more than one hundred feet long; but it would not be difficult to reach lengths one hundred times as grea
have produced electrical movements occurring at the rate of approximately one hundred thousand horsepower, but rates of
one, five, or ten million horse-power are easily practicable. In these experiments effects were developed incomparably great
than any ever produced by human agencies, and yet these results are but an embryo of what is to be.
That communication without wires to any point of the globe is practicable with such apparatus would need no demonstr
but through a discovery which I made I obtained absolute certitude. Popularly explained, it is exactly this: When wev
have been reflected from the same. Exactly as the sound, so an electric
a
ventral regions. Instead of sending sound-vibrations toward a distant wall, I have sent electrical vibrations toward the remote
b
electrical wave, a wave reflected from afar.
Stationary waves in the earth mean something more than mere telegraphy without wires to any distance. They will enable us
to attain many important specific results impossible otherwise. For instance, by their use we may produce at will, from
sending-station, an electrical effect in any particular region of the globe; we may determine the relative position or course of
a moving object, such as a vessel at sea, the distance traversed by the same, or its speed; or we may send over the earth a
wave of electricity traveling at any rate we desire, from the pace of a turtle up to lightning speed.
With these developments we have every reason to anticipate that in a time not very distant most telegraphic messages a
the oceans will be transmitted without cables. For short distances we need a "wireless" telephone, which requires no expert
operators. The greater the spaces to be bridged, the more rational become communication without wires. The cable is not on
an easily damaged and costly instrument, but it limits us in the speed of transmission by reason of a certain electrical prope
inseparable from its construction. A properly designed plant fo
ti
before communication by cable will become obsolete, for not only will sig
b
be secured.
I have obse
virtually no limit to the power of the vibrations producible with such an oscillator, I feel quite confident of the success of su
a plant for effecting transoceanic communication. Nor
p
without the slightest doubt, its effect will be perceptible on some of ou
p
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